Purpose: Understanding the relationship between distributed leadership and teachers commitment to change in the Chinese urban primary school context was the purpose of this study. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative research method is used in this study. For ensuring comprehensiveness, this research employed a random sampling method. This…

Evidence confirms that student skills other than academic achievement and ability predict a broad range of academic and life outcomes. This evidence, along with a new federal requirement that state accountability systems include an indicator of school quality or student success not based on test scores, has sparked interest in incorporating such…

Assessment forms an important part of instruction. Assessment that aims to support learning is known as formative assessment and it contributes student's learning gain and motivation. However, teachers rarely use assessment formatively to aid their students' learning. Thus reviewing the factors that limit or support teachers' practices of…

Because of increasing calls for school accountability, an increased emphasis placed on the role of the teacher, and theoretical connections between teacher beliefs and classroom action, a critical need exists to examine teacher professional development programs to determine their impact on teacher belief systems, teaching practices, and student…

In recent years, various scholars have expounded on the notable pedagogic work that assessment plays in educational contexts, describing its capacity to convey powerful messages on the valued aspect of education knowledge, impacting upon how and what students learn in these contexts. However, not many studies have sought to gain an insight into…

This study examined how self-efficacy beliefs might be used to inform leadership regarding accountability. A survey of principals was used to investigate the degree to which they believed the goals of federal and state school measures were actually attainable, and to what degree they believed their leadership helped achieve these goals. The…

The exploratory study sought to examine the relationships between teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and professional learning community. Specifically, this study presents a quantitative analysis of the relationship between teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy and PLC implementation. The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) (long form)…

This study examined how self-efficacy beliefs, a central construct of social cognitive theory, might be used to inform educational leadership and policy decisions related to school accountability measures. A survey of 112 principals in Florida was used to investigate the degree to which principals believed the goals of federal and state school…